


Sunset Over Dystopia

by digitalAlchemist



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13098996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalAlchemist/pseuds/digitalAlchemist
Summary: When his father's robotic creations begin to terrorise the city he loves, Noctis Caelum heads up a team of investigators to track down the cause of these bizarre incidents. What follows is a dark secret that even the bright neon of Insomnia couldn't hide forever; a secret that could ruin his life forever.





	1. The Warehouse

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary
> 
>  
> 
>  **Rogue Android and Installer Detective (RAID):** A specialist police force formed after malfunctioning androids and cybernetic users began to attack citizens. Members of the team are colloquially referred to as “Raiders”.
> 
>  **Installer:** Somebody who makes use of cybernetic enhancements. Often used in a derogatory manner.
> 
> [ This fic was beta'd by the incredibly lovely [Ad_Astra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ad_Astra/pseuds/Ad_Astra), and I am so very thankful for her insight and words of encouragement <3 ]

Thick smoke rose from his fingers, the blazing red tip of a cheap cigarette glowing brightly in the darkness of the alleyway as he inhaled its addictive contents. His other hand was stuffed into his coat pocket - a second-hand biker jacket that had lost the zip months ago and was unthreading itself from the inside out - in an attempt to fight off the rising cold.

“I thought you said you’d quit those?”

He glanced over to the source of the voice and chuckled quietly, pulling the cigarette away. “They de-stress me. My lungs are fucked anyway, they can’t do me much more harm.” He laughed louder when his partner pouted and crossed his arms. “I’m only having the one, I promise.”

Blue eyes closed as he sighed, kicking himself away from the wall and walking over to stand beside him. “You want me to go over the plan one more time, Noct?”

“Not really, Prompto; I know it inside out by now.” Another drag of tobacco. “But I’ll humour you. What’s the plan?”

A giddy smile stretched over Prompto’s face, dimples in his cheeks highlighting the spattering of freckles on his face. He pulled a rolled up blueprint from his cargo pants, untying the string around it and unfurling it against the side of a nearby building.

“Alright, so we need to get into the warehouse as high as we possibly can; the best way of entry is going to be an emergency staircase around the west side of the building. We can use that to get onto a gangway going across the whole building, and from there we’ll need to rappel into the control room that’s near the middle.” He pointed to a shaded square on the map, circled in dark red marker. “The recording equipment is already set up, so we just need to lay low and extract the tapes.”

Noctis hummed, before jabbing his finger at some electrical symbols near the top of the blueprint. “We’ll need to be careful of the flood lighting.” He stubbed his spent cigarette out on the wall, flicking the butt into an already-overflowing skip. “If we catch it wrong, our shadow will give us away.”

“Ah, good point. We can’t exactly cut the power, either — for one, it’ll be painfully obvious that something’s going on. And two, androids are shipped with infrared sensors as standard, so we’ll be visible anyway.” Prompto scratched his chin, whistling quietly to himself. “If we keep low to the gangway, we should be able to crawl across without too much noise.”

“We’ll only really be able to tell once we’re in there.” He pulled back his sleeve to check his watch. “Ten minutes ‘til showtime. Got everything?”

Dropping the blueprint, Prompto patted himself down and pulled his plasma pistol from inside his hoodie. “This counts as ‘everything’, right?” He smirked, unclicking the battery and checking the power level. “Fully charged and ready when I need her.”

Noctis smiled, reaching down to count the knives stashed into his pocket. “Think I’m ready.” He stretched a little, muscles starting to ache from standing in the frigid winter air for so long. “Let’s get a little closer.”

⚍⚊⚋⚌⚎⚏

Prompto’s hoverbike was near-silent as it traversed the snowy roads of Insomnia, the thin sheet of white illuminated in various shades of neon glow from the buildings surrounding them. If he looked up high enough, Noctis could spot the high-rise penthouse of his father, looming over the city like a huge surveillance camera.

REGIS was the city’s most prolific manufacturer of cybernetics and androids, well-known in the international market for their hyper-realistic bodies and long-lasting upgrade chips. Sometimes, Noctis wondered if he should have stayed as his dad’s apprentice and taken over the company when he was no longer around. But Regis was always proud of his son, regardless of what path he took, so he began RAID training as soon as he was out of college and never looked back.

“Hey, Noct?” Prompto had stopped at traffic lights, gently elbowing his friend. Noctis continued to look skyward, but acknowledged Prompto’s nudge with a low hum. “Why do you think this is happening?”

Noctis’ attention came back to Prompto, face hidden behind goggles and scarf. “You’re muffled, can’t hear you properly.” He reached forward and tugged the thick fabric down. “Try again?”

“Why are the androids doing this?” He nodded towards a large screen on the side of a skyscraper; a news report was detailing more deaths at the hands of a malfunction.

“I wish I could tell you, Prom.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging his sinuses. “Dad’s been trying to work it out for months now, but it seems like every firmware upgrade he pushes out is jailbroken within days and the cycle starts anew.”

The lights flicked to green and the conversation ended there, the dull thrum of anti-grav engines punctuating the night air as vehicles from every side moved in tandem, automatically driving their occupants to their destinations. Prompto’s bike was an older model, an ancient Kawasaki engine bike that had been gutted and refitted with new tech. Cindy down at the garage had offered to program him an autonomy unit, but he politely declined; Prompto was an old school kid at heart, and preferred to feel the rubber of handlebars through his fingerless gloves. He turned at the next junction, steering the pair of them away from the bustling core of Insomnia and out towards the industrial district, where their assignment was waiting for them.

The building they pulled up to was completely abandoned - the shutters on the front of the warehouse were littered with graffiti, gang signs overlapping where turf wars had started to take hold. The only sign that it was still in use was the glow of fluorescent lighting from the windows at the top, cutting into the darkness like a knife through paper. Parking up inside an old garage, Prompto cut the engine and covered his bike with an old tarpaulin sheet he found on a shelving unit.

“That hasn’t hidden anything, Prom.” Noctis gestured to the bike-shaped silhouette in front of them.

“Maybe not, but it makes me feel better.” His smile eased Noctis’ nerves a little, visibly relaxing him. “I’d rather have tried to disguise our getaway vehicle than nothing at all!”

Shrugging, Noctis turned away to glance over the building they were about to infiltrate. “So that’s the staircase we’ll be using?” He pointed forward, singling out a well-worn metal fire escape.

“It’s the only safe way in. Aranea said that she’ll unlock the door for us for exactly 10 minutes at 1900 hours.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, lighting the screen for a second. “Which means we have just over 2 minutes ‘til go time.”

“We need to be in and out as soon as humanly possible. There’s 10 tapes to pick up, right?” Noctis chewed his lower lip, trying to scope out alternate escape routes.

“Ten tapes, correct. Should be a 20 second job, if that.” Prompto grabbed Noctis’ arm, slowly pulling him towards the stairs. “You’ve got the rope, right?”

Noctis nodded, hiking a small backpack further up his shoulder. “It’s all in here.”

“Good, good.” Prompto let go of him, sinking lower to the ground and shuffling closer to the warehouse. “Let’s get up there, the lock should be open soon.”

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Prompto gingerly pushed his foot against the bottom step; it creaked, but not nearly as loudly as he expected. Flashing a thumbs up, he continued onwards, carefully distributing his weight to produce as little noise as possible. Noctis followed suit, sticking closely to Prompto as they ascended towards the top level.

Once there, Prompto checked his phone once more - 15 seconds until they were able to get inside. Holding his breath, he counted down the last five on his fingers. When his fist clenched closed, the door in front of them clicked and popped open slightly.

“Right on cue.” Noctis snickered. “She’s a good timekeeper.”

“Isn’t she just?” Prompto stood, carefully pulling the door open. “C’mon, let’s go.”

They stepped into the warehouse, immediately noting the dramatic increase in temperature. Noctis heard Prompto begin to speak, but pushed his hand over his mouth before words came out. He pressed a finger to his own lips, before squeezing past Prompto and dropping to a crawl. Glancing over the handrail of the gangway, he paused - the warehouse was empty. Not an android in sight. He panicked slightly, eyes darting around the space to try and find any signs of life inside the building.

“What’s wrong?” Prompto whispered, Noctis’ eery silence making him uneasy.

“There’s nobody here.” Noctis replied, slightly louder than necessary. “The place is empty.”

“What?!” Prompto hissed, shuffling forward to take a look himself. “You’re right… was our intel wrong? Did they know?”

“How could they have known..?” Noctis swallowed, his throat suddenly drying up. “Let’s… let’s just continue the mission as we normally would. Like nothing’s wrong, okay?”

Prompto nodded, patting Noctis’ shoulder as he stepped over him and began to move closer to their objective - his steps were light, squatting slightly to distribute his weight better. The _thunk thunk thunk_ of heavy metal vibrated into Noctis’ prone body, but thankfully didn’t echo too loudly around the wide open room. When he had managed to tie a rope in place, Prompto waved him over before vaulting the handrail and starting to slide down the rope, making one last sweep of the room before dropping out of sight. With careful, lengthy steps, Noctis approached the rope and grabbed onto it. He took a deep breath before stepping over the rail and joining Prompto in the control room.

“Shit.” Prompto’s cursing was the first thing he heard after landing. “Fuck.” Frantic shuffling of plastic cases and machinery. “Noct, they’re gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“The tapes. They’ve been taken.” His face was pale, almost ghostly white in the stark lighting. “We’ve been sabotaged.”

“No way. This was supposed to be a tight operation, we had all the intel.” Noctis clenched and unclenched his fists, breathing heavily. “We need to get out, Prom. Right now.”

“Hang on a second.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a few photos of the scene. “Some evidence is better than none.” He bounced past Noctis, climbing the rope as quickly as possible.

Something felt off about the whole situation; Noctis was on edge, his gaze flicking between every possible explanation for what happened. With a loud groan, he took hold of the rope and pulled himself up. It was only then that he noticed it - a flashing red light tucked into the corner of the room.

“Prompto, run! There’s a fucking _bomb_ in here!” He scrambled up, flailing as he tried to grab onto the handrail of the gangway as fast as he could. Prompto reached over, grabbing fistfuls of his jacket and hauling Noctis onto the metal before seizing his wrist tightly and dragging him out of the warehouse. There was a sudden change in pressure, before a thunderous boom ripped out from behind them both — searing heat burst out of the control room, the shockwave of air throwing Prompto to the floor and pulling Noctis down with him. Thick black smoke billowed out of the warehouse, the blaring siren of the fire alarm almost drowned out by the ringing in their ears, whilst the pair tried to catch their breath. Sprawled out on the fire escape, Prompto chuckled before leaning up onto his elbows and looking over at Noctis.

“Ironic, isn’t it? That we ended up needing this door for its intended purpose in the end.”

Noctis groaned once more, reaching over to punch Prompto in the leg. “Not one bit.” He rolled over onto his front and pushed himself into a standing position, hooking his hand under Prompto’s arm and yanking him up beside him. “That was terrifying, holy shit.”

“No kidding… we need to get back. Like… now.” Prompto bolted off down the stairs, Noctis following close behind. “The chief will have a fucking field day with this report.”

“Ugh, no. We’re just gonna get our asses chewed off, you know what Cor’s like.” Noctis almost tripped down the last few steps, the adrenaline in his system fading away to be replaced by aching muscles. He staggered towards the bike, being quickly overtaken by Prompto — dashing past him, the blonde almost dived onto the tarpaulin and threw it off, jamming his key into the ignition and powering up the engine.

“Let’s try and get our thoughts together for now. We can write up the detail in the morning.”

Swinging his legs over the back wheel, Noctis dropped his head onto Prompto’s shoulder and sighed. His body was exhausted, his mind was on the verge of shutting down, and he just wanted to go to bed. Wrapping his arms around Prompto’s waist, he closed his eyes and focused on his friend’s breathing. By the time the bike was moving, he’d succumbed to sleep.

⚋⚍⚎⚏⚊⚌

When Noctis opened his eyes again, he was staring at the blank white ceiling of his apartment. There was a blanket loosely draped over him, and a glass of water on the table next to him. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, he sat upright, groaning loudly as his muscles burned against the sudden movement. Looking around the room, he realised that it wasn’t his bedroom; he had been laying on the sofa in his lounge, the curtains drawn and lights turned down low.

“You’re awake.”

Noctis glanced to the other side of the room, his bleary vision struggling to find the source of the noise — Prompto was sitting at the kitchen counter, face bathed in the glow of his laptop screen, glasses reflecting the document he was working on.

“Wh… What time is it?” Noctis jammed the heel of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub away the residue sleepiness.

“4 in the morning.” Prompto lifted a mug to his lips, hovering for a moment before taking a sip of the liquid inside. “You were asleep when I pulled up outside, so I brought you in.” He took another sip. “Thought I might as well get started on the mission report, I’m still wide awake.”

“But you could’ve gone home to do that.”

“I could have, yes. But I wanted to make sure you were alright.” Prompto’s eyes glanced over to him, a small smile tugging at this mouth.

Noctis blushed slightly, turning his head away to hide from his friend. He still wasn’t used to random acts of kindness. “That’s… nice of you. Thank you.”

“Don’t sweat it — it was a tough night, thought you might want the company.” He lifted the mug up once more, tutting at it. “Also you’re out of teabags.”

The comment took Noctis by surprise, a small bark of laughter erupting from his chest. “I’ll grab some more later on.” He pointed to the laptop. “Sure you don’t wanna sleep?”

Prompto tried to stifle a yawn, fatigue finally catching up to him. “Soon… I’ve almost got this thing written up.”

“Well, take my bed when you’re ready.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and threw it onto the table before laying down again, pulling the blanket around him. “Going back to sleep.”

“No problem. Do you want waking up later?”

“Nah, I’ll take the lie-in.”

“Gotcha. Sleep well, Noct.” Prompto smiled again, returning to the document. Sighing quietly, he rubbed at his eyes and continued typing. It was almost completely silent, save for the humming of the fridge behind him, and Prompto found his thoughts drifting away from the task at hand. He wondered what had drawn him to Noctis in the first place — he vividly remembered the guy’s first day in the team, how he was crushed under piles of expectations because of his lineage and how much he wanted to get away from his past and carve his own path in life. Prompto closed his eyes, blocking out the glaring screen for a moment and surrendering to his thoughts.

_He was a good fighter. That’s the first thing that Prompto thought about Noctis. He was watching the training run, and couldn’t help but be impressed at his speed and grace — he did everything with a fluidity that Prompto had never seen before, almost as if his body was specially made for combat. He was assigned to Prompto’s next mission as his partner. A quick intel collection job that was perfect to show the rookie the ropes. Cor was confident in Noctis’ abilities, but he wasn’t stupid; this was his true test._

_“Show us what you’re made of, kid.”_

_Noctis did just that - he outshone Prompto in close-quarters combat when the mission turned sour, leaving two installers without their cybernetics. When they returned to HQ, Prompto immediately requested a permanent change - he wanted Noctis on his assignments with him. It took a while for Noctis to warm to him, but once Prompto had cracked that outer armour he found an ordinary kid who wanted to do what he could to help. And he admired that a lot._

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Prompto threw another fond glance at Noctis’ form on the sofa, blanket wrapped around him. Pushing his glasses back up his face, he went back to the report, determined to finish it.

Around an hour later, he slowly closed the lid of his laptop and stretched out, joints popping and clicking in protest. Standing up, Prompto slid his PC into his bag and propped it against the chair next to him. He began to walk over to Noctis’ bedroom, pausing at the door frame to give him one last look over. Noctis was sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling at a steady speed, one leg hooked over the edge of the sofa and one arm thrown off to the side. He looked an absolute mess, but at least he was comfortable. Shrugging, and with one last chuckle to himself, Prompto stepped into Noctis’ room and began to undress.

The bed was warm and inviting, his tired body practically melting into the mattress when he laid down. Folding his glasses up and resting them on top of his phone, he rolled over and closed his eyes. It was half past 5 in the morning, and he’d be awake within two hours, but he could at least give his bones a break. With a contented sigh, Prompto curled up under the covers and drifted to sleep.


	2. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> awkward socialite noctis can't cook properly
> 
> [ Thanks once again to [Ad_Astra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ad_Astra/pseuds/Ad_Astra) for her beta help! ]

Noctis was woken by the frantic vibrations of his phone as the device slowly wiggled its way towards him, nearing the edge of the table. He groaned loudly, fumbling for it as he pulled up into a sitting position. When his eyes adjusted to the piercing brightness of the screen, he noticed who was calling - Cor.

“Noctis. Morning.”

“G’morning, Cor.” He stifled a yawn as best he could, glancing at a nearby clock; 7:45. “How are things?”

“Frantic, to be honest with you.” Cor sighed, a crackle of static assaulting Noctis’ half-asleep brain. “Prompto sent me the mission report from last night — sorry you were assigned to a dupe case.”

Noctis shrugged, before realising that Cor couldn’t actually see him. “It happens. Not the first time, certainly not the last.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to coax his mind into catching up with his body. “Nobody was hurt, and that’s the important part.”

“And we know something new.” Cor chuckled quietly. “Even if that’s just ‘they’re definitely onto us’.”

“True.” A moment of silence. “How, though? How are they one step ahead of us?”

“I don’t think it’s just one, Noctis. They’ve been eluding us for a while now, and your mission is just the latest in a chain of shitty leads.”

Rolling his shoulders, Noctis winced as they clicked. “What? Really?”

“Really. Yours was the… eighth this month? It’s getting worse. Your dad’s getting more and more nervous — rightly so — and I can’t give him any more information. It’s infuriating.” Another despondent sigh. “Anyway, I didn’t just call you for a chat. We’ve got another tip, and I want you two to follow it. Take the rest of the morning off and come into the office this afternoon, we’ll talk about it properly then.”

“Gotcha.” Noctis looked over to his bedroom door, left slightly ajar. “I’ll let Prompto know when he’s awake.”

“Head in when you’re ready, just make sure it’s sometime today. I need to get this info to you ASAP.”

“Roger that, Cor. We’ll see you later on.”

“Rest well.” Cor hung up first, the line clicking before going dead.

Noctis sighed, dropping his phone into his lap and clapping his hands over his face.

“So much for that lie-in…” He flopped backwards, head crashing into the cushions underneath him. He picked up his phone again and pulled up the news - as expected, the first article was about the explosion last night.

 

> **WAREHOUSE UP IN FLAMES**
> 
> At around 2 o’clock this morning, a large explosion tore through an abandoned warehouse in the Industrial District of Lucis. It is understood that nobody was injured or killed in the blast, thought to be caused by an unknown gas leak inside the building. Firefighters were at the scene within 10 minutes, extinguishing the flames before any other buildings could be affected.
> 
> Early reports indicate that the warehouse had no surveillance cameras, and the property wasn’t leased by any companies. Police are still investigating the scene and we will update this article with new information as we receive it.

“They’re painting it as just a regular old industrial accident. Probably for the best…” Noctis muttered to himself, flicking through the rest of the articles with little actual interest in their contents. A loud gurgling noise caught him by surprise, and he started to look around for the source — before realising that it was his own stomach, squelching and crying out for food to be put in it.

He untangled his legs from the blanket, swinging them over the edge of the sofa so that he could stand up. Running his fingers through his hair, Noctis winced as he pulled on knots to try and detangle them. He pondered taking a shower before eating, but his belly was making more ugly noises that made his decision for him. Dragging his feet over to the kitchen, Noctis pulled open the fridge — squinting his eyes at the light — and investigated its contents, trying to find something that was quick and easy to cook up. Reaching in, he grabbed a pair of eggs and half a packet of bacon before nudging the door shut with his elbow and dumping the ingredients next to the stovetop.

Keeping silent for a moment, Noctis listened out for any movement that would indicate Prompto was awake — the guy was up all night dealing with the fallout from the mission; the least he could do was cook him breakfast. He heard quiet shuffling coming from his bedroom, and that was enough for him. Pulling a frying pan out of a nearby cupboard, he threw a splash of oil into it and set it on the stove ring, clicking the gas into action to heat it up. Turning around, he grabbed the kettle and filled that too — both him and Prompto were serious coffee demons, and could barely function on a morning without the stuff. Swinging open another cupboard above him, Noctis paused. On the bottom shelf, right at the front, was Prompto’s mug. It wasn’t exactly a “special” mug, but it was his; he’d brought it over the first time they crammed on a mission report together. Noctis never used it, and Prompto never drank from any other mug. A fond smile tugged at the corner of his lips, a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

As he dropped some coffee granules and sugar into the mug, he glanced over at his bedroom again. He’d always seen Prompto as more than a colleague — they had a friendship that extended past working hours, and it was something concrete in the otherwise hectic lifestyle they both led. Sometimes, one would need to work without the other for a few days, but they could always find themselves back in this flat. Noctis had been to Prompto’s place a few times, but Prompto preferred it here.

_“I dunno, it’s just… comforting? My flat’s cold and oppressive, but it always feels warm here.”_

Noctis remembered being taken aback by such a candid comment. Prompto’s flat didn’t seem too troublesome, but when he explained how lonely it felt at home it sent a pang of guilt through Noctis’ heart. He mentioned that Prompto should move in with him, in an off-hand sort of way, and Prompto chuckled — but didn’t entirely say no. The memory brought a little warmth to his cheeks, before the sizzling and popping of burning hot oil behind him stunned him out of his reverie.

“Ah, shit!” Dropping the spoon onto the counter with a clatter, Noctis reached over to pull the pan off the heat. He wasn’t particularly good at this kitchen stuff, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to give it a go. Putting the coffee to one side of his thought process, he focused on sorting out the food first. Gingerly sliding the bacon into the pan, he returned it to the heat and kept an eye on it while the meat cooked, sizzling away as it shrunk and crisped up.

Once it was ready, Noctis shifted the bacon to one side and cracked the eggs into the oil, leaving them to fry. Knowing they wouldn’t take long, he quickly finished making the drinks and searched the kitchen for a tray of some kind — if Prompto wasn’t out of bed yet, he’d treat him to breakfast in bed. The guy deserved it after dealing with last night’s shit. Pulling an old tea tray out of a cupboard, Noctis gave it a quick wipe with a damp cloth and started to dress it with a plate and cutlery, taking a moment to check on the food so he didn’t burn it and (probably) set the place on fire. He leant against the counter, sipping on his own coffee and contemplating what to do with the remaining hours of his morning.

Putting on clothes would probably be a good start. He realised, with a small amount of embarrassment, that he was only wearing his boxers. Either he’d woken up at some point during the night and thrown his clothes off, or Prompto had undressed him before putting him to bed — he hoped that it was the former, otherwise that would be an awkward conversation to bring up later. He put his drink down and quickly grabbed a hoodie from the hallway and zipped it up over his bare chest, putting him at ease a little. Picking up a plate, Noctis began to serve the food onto it. With a generous dollop of ketchup on the side, he grabbed a slice of bread from the fridge; everyone loves dipping bread into leftover egg, and Prompto was no exception. Carefully balancing the tray on one arm, Noctis made his way over to the bedroom, desperately hoping that Prompto wasn’t still fast asleep.

Slowly pushing the door open, Noctis breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Prompto sat up against the headboard, duvet pooled around his stomach and his phone firmly in his hands. He looked over to Noctis when he entered, cheeks dimpling as he smiled wide.

“Morning, sunshine.” Prompto waved, chuckling quietly. “So, about that lie in…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Noctis pouted, sighing again. “Had a call with Cor, so I’ll need to talk to you about it later. But for now…” He paused, nerves suddenly cutting his sentence short.

“You brought me breakfast?” Prompto's smile grew into a fond grin, his eyes lighting up at the promise of a home-cooked meal. Noctis nodded slowly, trying to work out why he was suddenly so shy. “You didn’t have to! I was just about to get up anyway.” Prompto motioned him over, obviously trying to snap him out of his stupor.

He obliged the request, looking out of the window instead of at Prompto. “Well, I was hungry, so…” He put the tray down on his legs, nudging it a little closer to him. “Thought I’d make you something too. S’only fair.”

“You’re too kind. Thanks Noct!” Prompto set his phone back on the side table and pulled the tray to him so that he could eat it without bits of egg and grease going everywhere.

“I’ll, uh… be in the kitchen when you’re ready. Gonna clean up.” Noctis shuffled over to a chair in the corner of his room, pulling a pair of fleece lounge pants from the pile of clothes on it and sliding them on. He hummed happily as warmth began to restore life to his legs, walking out of the bedroom with an awkward little wave to Prompto. Once he had returned to the kitchen, Noctis stood in front of the sink. He braced his arms on either side of it and took a deep breath — he needed to calm down, process his feelings, work out what this sudden surge was... Affection? Endearment? Gratefulness? There were ideas and words swirling through Noctis’ mind, and he couldn’t even blame teenage hormone swings any more; being twenty-five takes that card away from you. He closed his eyes, taking one last inhale of air before turning on the tap and starting to fill the basin. Grabbing his own food, Noctis slowly nibbled at the bacon, staring mindlessly at the blue tiles adorning the walls of his kitchen.

He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on in his head the past few days — it all sort of blurred into a mess of suppressed feelings. This wasn’t the first time he had spent an absurd amount of hours within such close proximity of Prompto, so where were these ill-timed waves of emotions suddenly coming from? Sure, they were close friends first and work partners second, but was Noctis looking for something… more? He didn’t want to sabotage the friendship they’d built up, nor did he want to potentially ruin his career, but there was a little piece of his heart that was aching for the next step. He didn’t even know if Prompto would be open to that kind of relationship, never mind how to instigate it...

Noctis cut himself off, sighing loudly into his breakfast, He put the meal down and reached behind him to turn the tap off. Depositing far too much dishwashing liquid into the water, he swirled it through his fingers and threw the sponge in, starting to clean the cookware he’d used.

He heard Prompto step into the kitchen, his bare feet slapping against the tiles, the low muffled crackle of somebody on the other end of a phone. Carefully setting his empty plate on the counter, Prompto gave Noctis a thumbs up, patting his belly gently.

“Uh-huh, right… No, Gladio, you’re not ripping my bike apart to fit this thing in.” He rolled his eyes, and Noctis was suddenly very interested in the conversation. “Look, I know I said that I wanted a little more power, but I don’t want the aesthetics ruined either - I paid a lot of Gil for that model. Yeah, ye- wait, Gladio, hang on a moment.”  He took the phone away from his ear, tapping the mute button. “Sorry Noct, important motoring discussion going on here.” Prompto giggled quietly, reaching over to pat his arm. “Thanks for breakfast, it was delicious.”

“It’s, uh… no problem.” Noctis smiled back, taking his plate and sliding it into the water. “You want anything else?”  
  
“No no, I’ll be fine. I need to head back to HQ in a sec and thump Gladio something solid; he’s trying to pull my Kawasaki apart!” Prompto pouted, obviously trying to pull some sympathy out of Noctis.

“Oh, actually, speaking of that.” Noctis ignored the attempt entirely and pulled his hands out of the suds, wiping them on a towel. “Cor’s got something for us to follow. Wants us in his office this afternoon.”

“Ah, good timing. I can swing by after I’m done in the garage.” He returned the phone to his ear, thumb hovering over the unmute button. “Let me know when you’re heading over and I’ll meet you there?”

Noctis nodded, returning his attention to the washing up.

“Sorry about that, Gladio. Right, so you’re not to touch that bike until I get there, you hear me?” Prompto sighed, pushing away from the counter to grab his jacket from a nearby barstool. “I’m setting off now, so I won’t be long. Make sure you’ve got that heater on, it’s bloody cold out today. See you soon!” As he hung up, he pulled the apartment’s door open and kicked his foot against it to prop it there. “Just call me when you’re ready, okay?”

“Sure thing. Probably in a couple of hours?”  
  
“Sounds good. Seeya soon, Noct!” He tugged the collar of his jacket up around his face, giving a two-finger salute as he stepped out into the corridor.

Once Noctis heard the elevator begin to descend, he pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply, desperately fighting the temptation to deposit his face into the sink and drown in dishwater. He clearly needed some time to pull himself back together again, but the missions just kept coming in thick and fast — now wasn’t the best time to be having a childish crush blossom into life. His arms had gone into autopilot mode, finishing up the washing and pulling the plug, the sound of gurgling water echoing around the now too-quiet room.

_‘I should talk to Prompto about it.’_

The sudden thought sent his body into a wash of nausea, skin erupting into nervous goosebumps. It was a perfectly logical line of thinking — if he could get his feelings out, then it might actually make something happen. But talking was scary, and Noctis wasn’t exactly verbose about his emotional states to begin with. He also wasn’t really sure how Prompto would react, and he definitely wasn’t ready for the inevitable turmoil of rejection. Trying to ease his mind, Noctis looked over at the clock on the kitchen wall — 10:20.

If he walked, Cor’s office was only half an hour away. If he could be bothered to wait for the bus, it was only ten minutes away. Glancing out of the window, neither option seemed particularly inviting. There was a thin sheen of frost covering the glass, and if the trees outside were any indication, it was incredibly windy to boot. With a pained sigh, Noctis wandered back to his bedroom and ran himself a shower — if he was going back to HQ, he was going to be nice and clean for the visit.

Stepping into the warm spray of water, Noctis leant his head against the garish tiles of the shower stall. He closed his eyes, trying to cut out all the garbage and noise in his head and just focus on the important things. The drumming of water on his back soothed his burning muscles, but didn’t do much for the aching elsewhere. He reached for the shampoo and made an attempt at covering his hair in it, soapy bubbles rolling down his face. Opening his eyes again, Noctis watched the suds run across his feet before disappearing into the drain, sort of wishing he could follow them.

He finished scrubbing himself down, trying to pull all of the dirt out of his fingernails and pointedly ignoring bits of heated flesh, before turning the shower off and towelling himself down. Fishing through his drawers for his hairdryer, he made a vague attempt at making himself look presentable and rummaged in his wardrobe to find some weather-appropriate clothing. When he had pulled something resembling an outfit together, he stood in front of the mirror and checked himself over. Noctis was almost tempted to give Cor a call back and tell him to shove his meeting, but as he glared at his reflection - wearing a padded jacket, a scarf wrapped around his cheeks and a wooly hat pulled down over his eyes - he thought better of it.

11 o’clock, said the clock on his bedside table. Prompto should have had enough time to chew Gladio’s ear off by the time he arrived at HQ, and Cor grew a little less irritable as midday approached. Grabbing his keys from their perch next to the clock, he took one last look at his reflection and huffed at it before heading out of the apartment, picking his phone up from the kitchen counter on his way past.

“Stupid Cor… It’s 2032, there’s holophones for this kind of shit.” He locked the door with more grumbling, checking to see if it was shut before walking to the elevator. Jabbing his thumb into the button to call the lift, he sighed once more for good measure and stared off into the distance, the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the corridor giving him a great view of the whole city. After a little wait, the elevator dinged as it arrived and Noctis stepped inside, sending himself to ground level with another aggravated stab.

Walking out onto the street and lighting a cigarette, Noctis began to make his way towards the center of Insomnia. “This had better be worth it.”


	3. It Wasn't Worth It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've actually had this chapter written since January. But a severe lack of confidence and motivation has made me put it off for all this time, and I've barely been able to start chapter 4. Hoping that posting this one will give me some juice back to carry this on.
> 
> The slow burn continues, bless Noctis' heart.
> 
> [ [Ad_Astra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ad_Astra/pseuds/Ad_Astra) beta'd this chapter too, so thanks again! ]

After narrowly missing the bus and watching it fly off down the street, Noctis was in a very grumpy mood. He huffed loudly and stuffed his hands into his pockets before turning around and beginning the long trek to Headquarters, mentally mapping the best route that also included a coffee shop. Noctis tugged his phone out, flicking his playlist into shuffle mode to drown out the city around him as he walked. His eyes focused on the path under his feet, occasionally darting around to watch garish and over-saturated adverts or avoid other pedestrians. He turned a corner, going slightly off the beaten path, to stop by one of his favourite caffeine haunts.

**\- CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT -**

The sign was handwritten, hastily taped to the inside of the window. Noctis stood still for a minute or two, staring at the oddly cursive choice of font, before swearing out loud and stalking back the way he came. He fished in his jeans for some loose coins, practically throwing them into a nearby vending machine and slamming his fist against the button to choose his drink. Canned Ebony wasn’t the same as a hand-brewed mug, but it would do for now. Noctis popped the drink open, taking careful sips of the warmth inside. Mood improved a little, he continued his journey to the office.

First stop was the garage to pick up Prompto. Knocking on the metal shutter, he heard Gladio’s booming voice from inside. “Noctis?”

“The very same. Lemme in, it’s fucking cold out here.”

“Alright princess, hold yer horses. Shutter’s going up.”

With a horrendous shriek of rusty metal grinding on even more rusty metal, the shutter pulled open to let Noctis inside. When he ducked under it, the change in temperature was almost unbearable to begin with — he immediately unzipped his jacket and threw his scarf onto some nearby racking, shrugging off the rest of his cold weather gear and adding it to the pile.

“So, I hear you’re butchering Prompto’s bike?” Noctis chuckled, accepting Gladio’s handshake as he stepped into the main workshop.

“No he isn’t!” Prompto wailed from the back room, sounding a little bit like he’d been crying. “I had to fight him off with a newspaper! It was  _ awful, _ Noct!”

Noctis shot a wry glance over to Gladio, who simply shrugged in nonchalant ignorance. “Uh-huh… So, what have you actually done to it?”

“Absolutely nothing. Just given it a polish and clean.” Gladio smirked. “But the kid loves that machine more than life, so sometimes I like to tease him about it.”

“You are a dick, aren’t you?”

“Not gonna deny the truth.” Gladio shrugged again before stretching, the tattoos on his arms rippling as his muscles shuddered. “He’s curled up on the sofa, if you wanna grab him.”

“Yeah, I’ll take him off your hands in a minute.” Noctis glanced around the room, searching for something. “Is Iggy online today?”

“Yeah, they finished upgrading his system last night.”

“Good. I need to ask him something. Where’s your terminal again?”

Gladio thumbed over to the back corner of the warehouse. “Same room as Prom. You can’t miss the thing.” 

“Nice one, thanks.” Noctis chewed his lip, wondering if there was anything else he needed. “Where’s your sister?”

“Weapons lab, as usual.” Gladio looked up from the engine he was putting back together. “Need a mod?”

“Nah, nothing like that. Just thinking of upgrading to a heftier gun, wanna check the stock.”

“Cor’s not gonna sign you off on that, kid.” Gladio chuckled to himself. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with anything better than a plasma pistol around here.”

“You don’t know ‘til you ask.” Noctis smiled. “Anyway, I’ll get out of your way. Thanks for the help, Gladio.”

“No worries, Noctis. See you soon.” With a quick two-finger salute, Gladio returned his full attention to the machinery between his knees.

Noctis headed to Prompto’s current resting place, nudging the door open with his foot. “You’re such a baby sometimes, Prom.”

“Hey! I just cherish my belongings, alright? Not everyone’s dad can buy their toys.” He stuck his tongue out at Noctis, who responded in kind — despite being over 20 and better than that.

“Maybe if you didn’t have such a shit taste in toys, you might get more of what you want.”   
  
“Ouch, Noct. I’m hurt.” Prompto let out a pathetic whine, dramatically collapsing off the sofa.

Noctis kicked him in the shoulder as he walked past, standing in front of the terminal and tapping the screen to kick it into life. IGN-15, or “Ignis”, was part of a city-wide information network that the authorities could use at any time. The system stored multitudes of information such as basic first-aid techniques, the best way to tackle an electrical fire, and even how to cook a perfect omurice. As one of the few Gathering Nodes in the network, IGN-15 could also add new information into the system; the Raiders mainly used it to add bounties and criminal records. Pulling up a map of last night’s target, Noctis hummed as he dragged it around the screen.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Prompto suddenly appeared over his shoulder, startling him slightly. Noctis was suddenly hyper-aware of the blonde’s proximity, and slightly scared as to why he was so on edge.

“Just reviewing our mission from yesterday before we get to Cor’s office. Something… feels off, and I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Prompto hummed, his breath tickling the side of Noctis’ neck. “I bet Aranea’s kicking herself today — she hates dead jobs more than any of us.”

“Good point. We’d best make a visit later and see her.” Noctis shivered as his finished the sentence, skin breaking out in goosebumps.

“Hm? You cold, Noct?”

**_No I’m unbearably hot and I don’t know why._ **

“A little bit, it was a really bitter wind out today.”

“Wasn’t it just?” Prompto’s arm was resting on Noctis’ shoulder, and it felt like he was molten lava — his skin was stinging under his t-shirt, almost like it was burning. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom and then we’ll go see Cor?”   
  
“Y-Yeah, sounds like a plan.” Noctis turned his head slightly to acknowledge Prompto, almost bumping their noses together in the process. “I won’t be long.”

Prompto smiled, sliding away and leaving Noctis feeling like his shoulder was searing hot where his arm had just been. When Prompto was out of earshot, Noctis let out a heavy sigh, taking a deep inhale to try and calm his raging nerves. He glanced up at Ignis, wondering if the network would have information on “how to date your best friend” or “what is this awkward boner and how do I get rid of it”. He almost searched for the latter, but then remembered that all IGN usage was monitored and tracked via biometrics — he didn’t want that on his record. He tried to focus on the blueprint again, but his concentration was completely shot. With an irritated whine he jabbed the logout button and left Ignis to do its thing, whatever that thing was.

Noctis stopped just outside the toilets, leaning against the wall and waiting for Prompto to return. He contemplated running in to splash his face with water, but didn’t want Prompto to ask him why he needed a cold splash when he was just complaining about the chill outside. Instead, he settled for holding his head in his hands and squeezing his temples in a vague attempt at getting everything back together again. When he heard the toilet door open, Noctis dropped his arms to his side again, his unbreakable facade back in place.

“Ready to go?” Prompto wiped the last drops of water on his hands away with the back of his jeans, throwing another gentle smile at Noctis.

“I think so.” Noctis swallowed, throat thick with nerves. “I hope this isn’t anything too serious.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Noct.” He clapped a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon.”

They made the short walk to Cor’s office in silence, save for Prompto’s quiet humming of some pop track he’d been listening to recently. Noctis glanced down at Prompto’s hand, almost wishing he could hold it — assignments always made him extremely nervous, and coupled with his recent train of turbulent emotions it wasn’t exactly “optimal conditions” for a new job to rear its head. It’s his job to follow all of these leads and take on all of these missions, but right now he just wasn’t… feeling it. That wasn’t a valid excuse to not work, though. As they approached the door, Prompto took the lead and gently knocked on it.

“Come in.” Cor’s deep voice rumbled through the wood.

A little bit of Noctis wanted to run away when Prompto opened the door, but when he reached back and gave Noctis’ arm a reassuring squeeze the urge dissipated.

“Good morning, Cor. Noctis said you had a briefing for us?”

“Ah, Prompto. Yes, he’s right. Please do come and take a seat, I’ll run you through it.” Cor stood up as they entered the room, pulling open a filing cabinet and flicking through stacks of manila folders. “It’s a scouting mission, so nothing as potentially fatal as last time — we hope, anyway.” He turned around to regard both of them, his lips a thin, somber line. “I’m sorry to you both for what happened last night. We could’ve lost you.”

Noctis half-shrugged, waving Cor away with a polite smile. “Don’t worry about it. The job’s dangerous, we knew that when we signed up.”

“Whilst that is true, it still doesn’t sit quite right that we accidentally sent you on what could well have become a suicide mission.” A few beats of awkward silence permeated the air in the office, and Prompto sent an uncertain glance in Noctis’ direction. “Anyway, that was yesterday. We’ve got some new information that needs chasing. Ignis, if you wouldn’t mind bringing up a map of the markets on the screen, please.”

_ “Certainly, Cor. Blueprint or satellite?” _

A robotic voice reverberated across the walls of the small room. It was the first time Noctis had heard Ignis  _ speak _ , and the accent was slightly jarring. He’d have to ask Prompto about it later.

“Satellite, if you would.”

_ “Of course. Displaying that now for you.” _

The large monitor in the middle of the opposite wall lit up with an overhead view of the nearby Market District, some areas already highlighted and circled.

“Okay boys, here’s what we know. This stall here,” he pointed towards the bottom corner of the map, where a red circle indicated the stall in question, “has seen a significant increase in visits from installers. Now whilst that in itself isn’t suspicious, other market vendors have reported that the installers will go down some steps into an underground area and then return some time later. Some have told us they can be down there for as long as three hours.”

“Have the vendors noticed any physical or behavioural differences?” Noctis asked, eyes scanning the rest of the map.

“Not that we’ve heard of. Possibly a couple of repaired units, but nothing particularly out-of-the-ordinary.” Cor watched Noctis for a moment before continuing. “As I say, there’s nothing especially untowards about what they’re doing, but because we’ve now had a number of worried queries from the other vendors we have to at least check it out.”

“If anything, it’ll reassure them if we can say we’re looking into it.” Prompto added, humming. “Anything else we need to know?”

“This red area on the map is where the stairs lead to. It looks like it could be a large underground storage area of some kind, but we haven’t had any intel to confirm that. Ideally you two will need to get down there and scope it out, but only if it’s safe to do so. You’re going in absolutely blind this time.”

“I guess if it’s not a full-scale operation, we don’t have the clearance for a full briefing beforehand?” Noctis chewed his lip again, nerves flaring up a little.

“Exactly. Aranea can’t do anything other than giving us this map.”

“Hm. Okay.” More lip-chewing. “When do you need us to leave?”

“As soon as possible, but it’s not urgent. Within the next 24 hours will be adequate.”

“Any special equipment?”

“Only if you request it.” Cor dropped the file onto the desk in front of Noctis. “Here’s all the paperwork, take a read when you want.” He sat back down, his large chair creaking as it spun around. “Ignis, clear the screen.”

_ “Consider it done.” _

“What do you think, Noct?” Prompto leant over to grab the file, opening it and flicking through the pages inside. “Should be a quick scope operation, in-and-out.”

“Should be. I’m just… on edge after yesterday.” Noctis looked Cor in the eye. “Can we have another agent on standby, just in case?”

“I think that’s possible.” He pulled open a drawer and removed a small diary from within. Thumbing through the pages, he opened it on tomorrow’s page. “Cindy’s coming off a job tonight, so you can keep her on comms if you like.”   
  
“I’d… I’d really appreciate that, yeah.” A slight blush dusted Noctis’ cheeks, almost embarrassed to ask for the help. “There shouldn’t be any issues but…”

“You’d rather be safe. I understand.” Cor jotted down a note in the diary before stashing it back in the drawer. “I’ll send her a comm later, so you can expect a confirmation in the morning.”

“Then we’ll start the job tomorrow morning, once we’ve got the OK.” Noctis looked over at Prompto. “Is that okay with you?”

“Absolutely fine by me.” He beamed wide. “You gonna be okay?”

“It’ll be fine, yeah.” Noctis nodded, taking in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. “I have you, and I’ll have Cindy. No problem.”

“Very good.” Cor stood up once more, prompting the other two to do the same. “Just clock in when you reach the AO as usual, you know the drill by now.”

“Will do. Anything else?”

“Nothing else. Take care, boys. You’re dismissed.”

Once they were out of the door, Noctis slumped against it and slid to the floor. 

“Noct?” Prompto’s concerned tone tugged at his heart a little. He squatted down, matching his eyeline, and gently placed a hand on Noctis’ knee. “Talk to me.”

“I’m… I’m  _ so  _ stressed, Prom.” Noctis sighed, his bangs fluttering across his downturned face. He wanted to blurt out everything that was on his mind, come clean to Prompto. But now wasn’t the time — they had a mission, and the last thing he wanted to do was compromise it.

“Everything’ll be fine, I promise.” Prompto’s little smile made his cheeks dimple again, and Noctis was suddenly fighting the urge to reach up and cup his face. The little squeeze on his knee didn’t help.

“I… I’m gonna go for a walk, if that’s okay.” He slowly stood up, using the wall for support. “I need a few minutes to calm down.”

“Where do you want me to wait for you?”

Prompto immediately understood that he needed some time to himself, and Noctis was grateful that he didn’t need to spell it out. “Can you meet me in the Weapons Lab?”

“Sure thing.” Prompto’s hand was holding onto his elbow, making sure he was stable before he let go. “I’ll let Iris know you’re on the way.”

“Thank you.” He meant it, more than Prompto could imagine. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere else.” Prompto gave him a little salute, and began to walk to the central corridor.

Noctis gave a small wave back before he disappeared around the corner, a soft smile tugging at his mouth. He wondered if he’d been drugged, and that’s why he was acting this way. There were plenty of other, more reasonable explanations for what was happening to him, but they weren’t coming to mind. With a little snort of laughter to himself, Noctis walked in the other direction — if he remembered correctly, there was a botanical garden somewhere in the building. It was supposed to be for medical herbs and such, but Noctis was fairly sure nobody actually kept it in good condition. Still, it was a quiet and relaxing space and that’s what he needed right now. Somewhere he could just sit and be away from everything for a while.

He wished he could just empty his brain. Flush out all of the mess floating inside it and start over fresh. But Noctis knew that was impossible, so he just blotted out as much as he could. When he got to the glass doors of the garden, his arms moved automatically to swipe his ID against the reader to give him access inside. It was warm inside, and the air was humid, but Noctis didn’t mind. Within a couple of minutes he found a bench and sat down, taking in a deep breath to collect what was left of his thoughts.

One: He couldn’t talk to Prompto about his feelings until tomorrow night at the earliest.

Two: He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about them.

Three: He didn’t want Prompto to hate him.

No matter how much he tried, Noctis couldn’t get Prompto out of his head. He cursed himself for this stupid infatuation, wishing he could cut it all out. He hated himself and his dumb obsession with things, and Prompto was definitely an obsession at this point. Noctis forced himself to focus on yesterday instead, ruminating on what went wrong — someone had known they had surveillance set up, or something had tipped someone off. It always seemed like they were just one step ahead of the Raiders. Even using ancient technology like VHS tapes wasn’t enough.

“Who even are ‘they’..?” Noctis wondered aloud, as if the orchid in front of him could answer his question. “One person? Multiple people?”

When the flower didn’t respond, he tutted at himself and stood up. He paced around the garden for a few laps, trying to release some of his pent-up energy before going to find Prompto. At this point Noctis didn’t even want to talk to Iris about his gun — the idea of being social almost made him sick to his stomach. He’d grab Prompto, tell him he was going back home to sleep and that would be enough. Sleep always helped him de-stress, and the mission wasn’t until the morning. With only a few briefing documents to go through, there wasn’t much preparation, so Noctis could take it a little easier tonight. He might even order in a pizza…

Distracted by food, he didn’t notice Aranea until he bumped into her.

“O-oh, I’m sorry Aranea. Didn’t… didn’t see you there.” He mumbled, far more embarrassed than he probably needed to be.

“Noctis.” She cleared her throat, adjusting her dress a little. “I was hoping you’d be here.”

“Oh? Can I help you with something?” Noctis’ features hardened, ready for instructions.

“No, nothing. I just… I wanted to apologise to you personally.” She was fidgeting with the cuff of her lab coat, stroking the fabric between her thumb and forefinger. “I feel personally responsible for what happened. I almost got you both killed.”

Noctis shook his head. “You weren’t to know.” Gently, he reached up and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze that he hoped reassured her. “You did your job, and we couldn’t ask for more.”

“I… Thank you, Noctis.” She nodded, patting his bicep. “I promise I’ll be better for you.”

“You’re already the best recon we can ask for, Aranea.” His smile was genuine, seemingly knocking Aranea off-guard slightly.

Aranea laughed, a hint of mirth in her voice. “I wish that were true, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same.”

Noctis laughed with her, pulling her into a quick hug. Aranea gasped quietly, returning the gesture before pulling back.

“You’re a good kid, Noctis. I like you.”

“I could say the same about you.” He patted her shoulder once more. “I’ll catch you around?”

“Yeah, see ya soon.” She smiled, saluting him with a chuckle.

Noctis left the gardens and took a moment to remember where R&D was. The Weapons Lab was on the right of the department somewhere, that much he recalled. Once he’d gotten his bearings, Noctis made his way over there without much further deliberation.

“Hey Iris.” Noctis gave her a nod as he entered. She responded with a muffled hum, the screwdriver between her teeth making it difficult to talk. “Ah, you’re busy with something.”

Iris nodded and flashed him a thumbs up. She had her back turned to him, bits of a large plasma cannon strewn about the worktop in front of her. Before returning to her work, she pointed to a chair at the back of the room, where Prompto was sitting with his headphones on.

“Got it. I’ll take him out of your hair. Thanks for looking after him.”

He wandered closer, gently kicking Prompto’s shin with the side of his boot. He looked up, sliding the headphones down to his neck. Noctis noticed, with a quiet snigger, that Prompto’s hair was now flattened in a smooth band where they had rested on his head.

“You all sorted?”

“Yeah, just needed some thinking room. Aranea found me, too. Said she was sorry for last night.”

Prompto looked a little downtrodden. “Man, everyone blames themselves, huh? It was a dead job, there’s nothing else to it. This isn’t the first time it’s happened.”

“I guess.” Noctis shrugged. “But they’re so uncommon these days, so it’s a bit of a slap in the face when it does happen.”

“Is she alright?”

“Aranea? Yeah, she’ll be okay.” He smirked, another snort of laughter flaring his nostrils. “You know what she’s like.”

Prompto mirrored the laugh. “True. Right then, where to next?”

“I was hoping you’d give me a lift home? Gonna get some food and call it an early night.”

“You sure? It’s only 2 o’clock.” Prompto tilted his head slightly — a habit he’d picked up when he wanted to make sure somebody was feeling well.

“I’m still groggy from last night, I think. Want to try and doze it off.” Noctis scuffed the floor with his boot, the rubber squeaking against the polished metal tiles. “Sorry to leave you hanging.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ve got stuff to be getting on with, so it’s cool.” That stupidly cute smile again. Noctis was going to have nightmares about it.

“I’ll meet you in the markets tomorrow morning? If we hit the AO for about 11, that should give us a good timeframe to work with.”

“It’s a date.” Ugh. Noctis’ heart fluttered at the choice of language, and it made him a little queasy. “If you run into any trouble let me know.” Prompto grabbed his keys from the seat next to him and stood up, waving to Iris as he strode out of the room, Noctis close behind.

The ride back to Noctis’ apartment was quiet — he almost fell asleep on Prompto again, but managed to keep his eyes open long enough to make it home. He saw Prompto off at the front door to the complex, waiting until he was out of sight before turning around and walking inside. The low hum of the elevator made him feel even more drowsy, and by the time he’d unlocked his front door Noctis was just about ready to pass out. Stepping into the kitchen, he glanced at a takeaway menu on the fridge door, contemplating it for a brief moment before deciding against it and throwing a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. Prompto was right - it was still early in the afternoon - but Noctis was exhausted. His mind had been working overtime all day, and he just wanted to shut down and stop thinking for the rest of the day so that he was ready for tomorrow.

After eating his toast with a glass of apple juice, Noctis stripped down to his boxers and belly-flopped onto his bed with a grunt. He just about remembered to put his phone on charge before closing his eyes and trying to sleep. Twenty minutes later, the screen was lighting up his face as he frantically typed a message to Prompto — he needed to write something down or he was going to go insane. He could read it over in the morning and send it then.

> Hey, Prom. There’s… there’s something I need to speak to you about. It’s nothing urgent or anything, but… I like you a lot. And… maybe more than just a friend? I’m not sure and i dont know what im writing anymore see you tomiittow

With a heavy groan he dropped the device to his side and shut his eyes again, willing sleep to come quickly so he could just pretend today never happened. As his phone slipped from his fingers and hit the floor, it bleeped in confirmation.

**Message sent - 14:23**


End file.
